Portable ventilation duct for refrigerator cars



Feb. 3, 1942. M, WIGNEY 2,272,143

PORTABLE VENTILATION DUCT FOR REFRIGERATOR CARS Filed Feb. 25, 1940 2 snee ts-shet 1 /5 \Q' 12 14 w, v 1 2a 2/. I" V5 27 z E L ll ,5 1Q l7 49 K g5 J0 q x 1 1 K5 2L I! 4 a 35 Feb. 3, 1942, H. M. mes-Ev 4 2,272,143

PORTABLE VENTILATION DUCT FOR REFRIGERATOR CARS I Filed Feb. 25, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Z ""nfi.

Patented Feb. 3, 1942 I UNITED; STAT '2;27'2, 14s; g

"PORTABLEIYENTILATION DUCTYFQR I l J 'r -V a I 1 'ra M; W s'net'wBronxville; NlfY.,jassigj1fl l i ff;-

' Union Asbestos &.'R Company, Chicago,

iKpplicationFebruary23, 1940;.serial'Noiszogzz i 6 Claims.

' This invention relates to refrigerator cars and has for its object the. provision of a portable ventilating ductforsuch cars. I ,1 I v Refrigeratorcars are in wide use'uponAm'erican railroads; Many of them employ ice refrig f eration and are especially constructed to permit" the ready circulation of "ice-cooled air through:-

a refrigerator car render-it especially suitable forready ventilation, someiof the features p'ermit the'airr-to passreadilyover the ladinglwith thoroughly l gh' the cargoand-I 1 thus preclude complete'vent-ilation of the car.

This invention isdirected' to the elimination of the difficulties-in ventilating a refrigerator car;

when the car isoperated as a ventilated car;

Objects of the invention are to provide a duct for refrigerator cars which is portable a'n'dli'ght in-weight, compact andfoldableinto small space;

and which can: be readily installed in andremoved from refrigerator; carswithout' the use of tools.

A further object ofitheinvention is to provide a ventilating duct for refrigerat'or cars which will force air drawn into-the car down to' the' car'floor and thus insuremore'thorou'gh dispersion of the vcirculating; air through'thepanand the lading therein.

.- A further object of z the as dust; cinders, soot, and snow'will badeposited and the unladen' air' permittedft'o' pass "on into the car'to'be circulated through the lading.

Other objects; advant'a'ges and capabilities of the invention-will appear from the following de- 7 scription 'of' a preferred e'mbodirnel'it t'hereof,

taken in conjunction with the accompanying,

drawings in which;

Figure l is a sectional longitudinal elevationof a refrigerator car showing the portable ventilating duct or this invention installed and'in'dicating by arrows the path of thefairdrawn through the,

car;

FigQZis a sectional elevation of an ice bunls'rerv of" a refrigerator carwith the portableventilat ingv duct of. this inventiondnstalled;

invention is; to provide aaventilating duct which will direct the air drawn"- into: the car' down to thefloor oftheo'ar where a the heavier particles of foreign materials, such' Fig: 3*isr I ventilating ductsof thisvinvention'collapsed? -itFig. 4' is a 'fra'gmentaryas'ectional elevation ofa theilower end offthe portable ventilating duct'of: j

5:1 this invention 'showing' one' form of means by I which the duct can be secured to the ice-grate in the bunker-r this section is taken on* the line 4+4of-Fig.2.

Referring; to the lit car is mounted upon wheels and consists essentially of fourwa'lls, of-which thetwoend walls I I are shown. The roof l2 of the car is sepae. rated'fromtheceilingylikby the space 14 which iscustomarily filled with insulating material.

' At; eachsendv of the= car the roof is provided: with two ha-tches or openingslivone mounted: to one side of; the 5 center line of the P car, the other 205 in a corresponding" position on the opposed side.

Each-hatch is; provided: ith a.hinged hatch cover l6 whiclr is customarily 'pivoted lfil at-the side. of the hatch toward the middle ofthe can and provided with an adjustablejbracket I62 bywhich'thehatch' cover can be held ingopenposi-sv tion toprovide various silzed-openings; va

- Beneath the hatches ateach 'endof the car is an ice-bunker l-l- .iorrnedby the side yvalls of the car, the end wall l l thesbulkheadi L8,, and the ice-gratela. The? bulkhead uI,8-;-does not extend from thefioor L22 to-the-ceiling I 3 of the car, but i is; separated? from the floor byv th e and. from :the i ceilingby the passage passage 20. 2] l 3 5; l Beneath the ice grate "ll {lithe ice bunker provided witha'floor. pan or trayf35 to collect drippings from the icehand any straw; sawdustor similalrv materials which may, oling to. the'jioe when it isloaded into the bunker.

overlying the floor ZZ lot the carg land spaced therefrom bvth'eair-space 24' is the floorrack 23'} which isfiformed'of transversejplanks; 25f mounte'dupon the stringers 26f and spacedlapart" to provide the fissures forthe" passage of air ice-bunker l l'is' loade'd with; ice and the cooled;

air movesby convection downward beneath'thie bulkheadl8 thrbll' gh the pa'ssage '20 and, the figi spa'ce 24 between the floor "22"and the floor'rack 23; through the fissures in the floor rack 23;

through the lading'fborne" by thefloor rack,

through the passage 213 'abov'e'the' bulkhead Ill,

p When" the: car; is; operated? a. ventilateu car a" sectionalvelevation.ofi the portable" drawings, the, reference nus; meral-ll] designates a conventionalrefrigerator cari shown in Figzc1=- in sectional elevation. The

,Wheri tliecar is used'as a 'refrigera tedith'e v serve to create areas of low pressure at the rear hatches and draw the air from the car. The

most open path' for the air is through the hatch I5, into the top of the bunker I'I, over the front bulkhead I8 by means of the passage 2|, over the lading borne by the floor rack 23, over the rear bulkhead by means of the rear passag 2 I, and out of the rear hatch.

The current of air drawn into the car is thus directed through the car Without circulation along the bottom of the. car and through th lading. The air drawn into the car is frequently laden with cinders, dust, soot, snow, rain and any other air-borne foreign matter, and as the air current within the car loses its velocity these foreign particles are dropped into the car and over the lading, with resultant damage to the contents of the car.

This invention is directed to these problems, and consists in the provision of a portable ventilating duct, wholly self-contained, readily collapsible, and capable of installation in and removal from a car without the use of tools. The invention is shown in greatest detail in Fig.2, collapsed in Fig. 3, and as installed in a refrigerator car in Fig. 1.

The portable ventilating duct consists essentially in a collapsible tube or duct 30, suspended from the frame 29, which is flanged 29 about its mouth so that the frame may be suspended from the flange within a hatch I5. The frame is preferably made of a light stiff material such as sheet metal, and may b of any shape and size which may enter the conventional car hatch, and be suspended therein by resting the flange 29 upon the frame I5I of the hatch. The tube 30 may be made of any material that may be readily folded and flexed and that is not readily pervious to air, such as closely woven fabrics, rubber, leather, etc., and may be made rectangular or circular or polygonal in section.

At intervals along the length of the tube 30 are frame members or hoops 3| secured to the walls of the tube to maintain the tube in open or distended condition. These may be made of any rigid material, such as band iron or heavy wire or light metal rods. In the drawings they are shown secured to the walls of the tube 30 by fabric loops 32 stitched to the tube. They are preferably of a size that will permit them to rest within the frame 28, as shown in Fig. 3.

At the lower end of the tube 30 are shown a pair of hooks 33 secured to the hoops 3| by means of the rings 34 formed at the upper end of the hooks. The open ends of the hooks are swung under the bars I9I which form the icegrate' l9. Other means may be used to stretch the tube 30 within the ice-bunker H, the essential requirement being that the tube be held fairly stationary within the car, both to insure that it remains open and distended, and to prevent it from flapping about and thus being subjected to unnecessary wearing action.

As may be seen in Fig. 3, the duct may be readily folded or collapsed, all the parts nesting within the frame 28 for carriage or storage.

To install the duct it is merely necessary to secure the hatch-cover I6 in open position and to drop the duct into a hatch of the car, so that the flange 29 rests upon the frame I5I of the hatch. The hooks 33 may then be secured to the bars I9l of the ice-grates I9, and the installation is complete. For removal, unfastening the hooks 33 and lifting the duct from the hatch is all that is necessary.

While only a single duct of this invention is shown in Fig. 1, a similar duct may be installed in any one or more of the four hatches with which the conventional refrigerator car is equipped. If the car may be run in either direction, a duct mounted in one hatch and another in the hatch located at the diagonally opposed corner of the car, with th remaining two hatches closed would insure best results. If a car is to be run continuously in a single direction, two ducts mounted under the open hatches at the forward end of the car, with the two'rear hatches merely held open will give the best results.

As indicated in Fig, l, with a duct of this invention installed in the forward end of the car (direction of motion of the car being indicated by the heavy arrow beneath the car), th air scoopedinto the car through the forward hatch will .be directed through the duct down to the ice-grate I9, and will-then pass beneath the front bulkhead I8 through the passage 20, along the floor of the car through the passage 24, a part of it upward through the fissures 21 in the floor rack 23 and through the lading borne thereon, over the rear bulkhead I8 by means of the rear pas.- sage 2|, and out through the rear hatch I5. The air drawn into the car is thus given definite direction toward and through the passages designed to ventilate the lading.

In addition to the improved dispersion and circulation of the fresh air thus provided, the duct also serves to carry the air drawn into the car for some distance through the ice-bunker I! but within the tube 30. The velocity of the moving air is thus checked while the air is still over the ice-grate I9, and any air-borne foreign materials, such as cinders, dust, soot and snow are dropped within the ice-bunker and into the floor pans or trays 35, from which they may be readily removed. In this way the air-borne dirt is separated from the circulating air before the air is brought into contact with the lading, and the lading thus kept in cleanlier condition.

Although the invention has been disclosed in connection with the specific details of preferred embodiments thereof, it must'be understood that such details are not intended to be limitative of the invention except insofar as set forth in the accompanying claims.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A portable ventilating duct for refrigerator cars comprising a collapsible duct, means to secure the upper end of said duct around a hatch opening in the roof of the car, and means on wardly therefrom into the lower part of the car,

and a plurality of hoops in said duct toholdit I I v I cars lcomprising a collapsible duct formed by a open, the duct being open at its lowerend to conduct air into the lower part. of a car.

I 3. A- portable ventilating duct for refrigerator cars comprising a frame, means upon said frame to support said frame'in a hatch in the roof ;of

a car,-a;col1apsible ductsuspended from s aid frame and extending downwardly therefrom into to the lower part of the car and being open at its lower end, and means upon thelower end of '5.' A portable irentilating duct for refrigerator I tube of flexible material, a frame connected to the mouthpof said duct by which said ductmay said, frame, andfs'ecuring means at the bottom of said duct} which may be nested within said frame, said securingl means being connectible said duct for connection with a part of the car adjacent the bottom thereof to maintain the duct in distended condition.

4. A portable ventilating duct for refrigerator cars comprising a frame which may be inserted in a hatch in the roof of a car and-supported be suspended in a hatch in the'roof of a car, hoops in said ductv which can be nested within with apart of thecar adjacent thebottom thereof when theduct is extended to hold the duct in extended position in the car.

' 6; A portable ventilating; duct for refrigerator Icars comprising a deepframe, means upon said thereby, a flexible tubular duct'suspended from 7 said frame, means upon said duct to maintain said duct in distended condition radially, and

securing means at the lower end ofsaid duct connectible to a part of-the car adjacent the floor thereof to secure said duct within therefrigerator car in extended condition. l

frame to support said frame within a hatch in thereof of the ear, a collapsible duct'suspended from said frame, hoopswithin said duct tomaintainit in distended condition, and' securing means upon said duct to maintain it stationary within the car, said duct, hoops andsecuring means being collapsible to nest within said frame.

' HORACE M. WIGNEY. 

